Cougar in the Canyon

From a Meadows neighbor:


A few days ago, a German shephard-sized cougar was spotted nosing around at the picnic tables in El Prieto canyon. Despite the hiker having 3 large dogs and blowing a whistle, the cougar circled around behind the hiker to block the forward path and continued to watch him partially concealed in the brush. The cougar definitely appeared predatory and did not run away. The hiker backed away the way he came in instead of continuing down the path the cougar was blocking.

Found Dog

This very cute and friendly Terrier(?) was found wandering around on Aralia.  No tags.  The neighbors were taking him to Pasadena Humane this afternoon as they already have two dogs.

Anyone recognize him?  We were thinking that maybe someone dropped him off in The Meadows.

Tree limb down

Tree limb down on lower canyon crest

New Meadows Home For Sale

I'm often asked about the status of homes for sale here in The Meadows.  This year, I'm going to start posting homes as they come on the market.  I'll be posting those that I and other Realtors are representing (if they'd like).

Here's a fantastic new home at 4166 Aralia Road.  Gorgeous gourmet kitchen, hardwood floors, pool, spa, many updates and a spa-like Master bath. Three bedrooms and 1 3/4 baths. Offered for $560,000.

Please join me this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4 to see the home.

Follow this link for more pictures on the website.

4166 Aralia Road

Free Clothing Giveaway

A neighbor's church is hosting a free clothing giveaway:

First AME Zion Church in Pasadena

The "Open Closet" hours are from 10am to 2pm

1087 North Raymond Ave, Pasadena

All are welcome

HVAC Referral

A neighbor is looking for any referrals to a good HVAC (heating and air conditioning) service? Her old forced air furnace needs some attention.

SCE Planned Power Outage Feb. 18

I received a postcard from Edison yesterday announcing a planned power outage Saturday, February 18 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

I'm assuming everyone in The Meadows received one. 

There are tips on how to prepare. It also states that we may not experience outages for that whole time.

Annual Brush Clearance Notice

I received my annual brush clearance notice in the mail yesterday.

Brush clearance inspections are scheduled to begin May 1.

Watch for your notice which provides all the requirements.

Hooty's Back!

Thanks to Jane for recreating our Hooty "Don't Pollute" sign that had been damaged realier.

Exchange Materials

A neighbor suggested that I create a section in the blog for exchanging building materials.  I'm happy to do that if there's an interest in it.  It could go beyond building materials if there's enough interest.

For now, she is searching for some chain link fence, the short kind, 4' high, to replace an older wire fence that totally collapsed in the windstorm and a couple of wooden gates.

Anyone have other materials from or not from the windstorm they're looking to get rid of or exchange?

Bear Program

Sierra Club plans program on local bear history - Noted wildlife biologist Kevin Brennan will present "Grizzlies and Black Bears in the San Gabriel Mountains" at 7:30 PM Wednesday January 25, at Eaton Canyon Nature Center, 1750 N. Altadena Drive.

Sponsored by the Sierra Club Forest Committee, the program will trace the history of the mighty grizzly bear that used to dominate local mountains and valleys.

Brennan, who has worked for the past 20 years with the California Department of Fish & Game, will also discuss the history and habits of the black bear, the successor to the grizzly that now roams our neighborhoods and hot tubs, and how humans can best live near the black bears of the San Gabriels. The public is welcome. Reception and refreshments are at 7:00 PM, the program begins at 7:30 PM.

The Meadows Real Estate Market in Review 2011

I've recapped the year in real estate here in The Meadows. 

The report includes all the sales in our neighborhood and Lower Canyon Crest area along with statistical charts from 2006 to 2011.

As always, if you need any real estate assistance, please let me know.

Thanks,
Greg

To view and/or print the document, please go to the following link. (It may take a minute to load.)

The Meadows Real Estate Market Report 2011

Activity at the Top of Risinghill

Theo sent  this email yesterday and wanted to share on the blog:

"I am freaked.  Three suspicious instances occurred since I last communicated with you: (1) I was sitting at my dining room table and saw a guy taking a photo of my house.  I ran out and confronted him.  He said he was just hiking.  He was there with another guy.  They said they had hiked over from Millard Canyon.  Two white guys.  They actually seemed innocent enough, but I don’t like people taking photos of my place.  (2) Yesteday I saw an SUV coming down my driveway as I was coming up.  He was in a hurry, avoided eye contact, and sped past.  Today I noticed that one of my ladders is missing from my backyard.  (3) Marina (my neighbor) said she saw a couple of guys taking photos yesterday of the trail near my house.  They said they were scoping out bike trails.  She said that routinely cars will come up here and drop off several bikers, then go back down.  When she engages them they are rude and express a sense of entitlement.  Holy cow!  What is going on?"

Theo-

Road Rage for Hikers?

This note came in from a neighbor:

"Yesterday afternoon I took the dog for a walk and was heading up El Prieto Road. A black car came speeding in reverse down the driveway from above the cul de sac and was headed straight for me.  I moved around to get out of the way, but it turned and kept heading at me as I scrambled some more to get out of the way. 

I finally cleared the backing, turning car as it stopped.  I went around to the side and saw that the driver was looking at her phone in her lap texting.  I got her attention and asked if she even saw me. 

She said that this is a private drive and people don't have a right to be hiking on it.  I said that this a public street that I'm on.  She said that this is a private drive and a private cul de sac and that this is what people who live up here need to do.  I asked her if she meant backing into people.  At that point she waggled her finger at me and sped back up the drive to the last house on the right before the Lincoln Avenue Water Company gate and went into the house.

I was rather shocked.  Be aware when hiking up there."

Free Drafting Table

Steve and Sharon have a free drafting table for anyone who wants it.  They can be reached at (626) 798-9464.

Sherrif Talked to Solicitor

The Sheriff did talk to the young man who was knocking on doors last night.  He was trying to sell magazine or newspaper subscriptions. (That could be a scam too.) He was not scoping out houses for potential break-ins.

I described the experiences that many neighbors told me about to the Sheriff, including the young man asking for money, claiming he was from neighborhood Watch and that his mother lived on Canyon Dell.

The Sheriff also said that door-to-door solicitation is not unlawful.

The Sheriff encourages us to continue calling them if we see unusual activity in the neighborhood.

Graffiti Clean-UP

Neighbors are extending a big "THANK YOU" to a neighbor on Canyon Crest, Miche, who cleaned the graffiti that was on the AT&T cable box near the Meadows sign.

The graffiti showed up some time in the last day or so.

Scammers in The Meadows Thursday Evening

I received two calls from neighbors on Risinghill and El Prieto that the "Neighborhood Watch" scammers were knocking on doors again this evening.

(See the earlier post for advice on how NOT to answer the door.)

Again, it is potentially a team of people with one person trying to distract you at the front door while another is breaking into your house from the back.

Tonight, the scammer claimed to live on Canyon Dell with his Mother.  He was estimated to be between 14 and 16 years old.

Both parties called the Sheriff who did come up into The Meadows.

A Meadows alert was generated at around 7:00 p.m.  For those who signed up, you should have gotten a text, call, or email.  If you haven't signed up and live in The Meadows, send me your contact information and I'll add you to the alert system.

Debris Clean-up Update

Greetings to you all,

At tonight's Altadena Town Council meeting, Edel Vizcarra from Supervisor Antonovich's office and Luis Sanchez from Athens Services answered questions from the Town Council members and provided some information on the clean up effort in Altadena.

Both the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and Athens Services have been in the community 7 days a week since the windstorm that began on November 30th.

Here are some things both the County and Athens would like for you to know:

1.    Some people have been cleaning up their yards and just dumping the debris from the windstorm on the street or parkway in front of their homes.  Some have had others cleaning their yards and those hired to help, or their regular gardeners are continuing to dump debris in the street or on the parkway.  That activity has been observed and the County and Athens request that we all take action to stop that practice.

2.    Athens will continue to pick up green waste in your green waste cart with the trucks specifically constructed for automated pickup of those carts.  They will also continue to pick up bagged green waste - often in a different truck since the drivers don't have time to empty your cart and then refill it on the spot with your bagged debris.  You will also see both Athens and the County's Department of Public Works crews picking up bundled tree limbs and twigs and bundled palm fronds. 

3.    You may see Athens by-pass large bundles or large tree limbs either because they're too heavy for the driver to manage safely or because the bundle or size of the limb is too large for the equipment available and when that happens, you'll see Public Works crews dealing with those larger items because their crews have chain saws with them and they can reduce the size of the tree trunks, limbs and branches to make pick up easier. 

4.    A number of people have complained about having to call Athens to let Athens know they will have extra green waste to be picked up.  Please continue to call Athens to let them know you're putting extra green waste out for pick up because it helps them know how much equipment to stage for your area's pick-up day.  They have had extra trucks up here dealing with all of their routes and will continue to have extra equipment up here until all of Altadena has been cleaned up.  It may be an inconvenience to you to make that call but please understand - THIS EXTRA GREEN WASTE REMOVAL IS NOT PART OF YOUR 4 TIMES A YEAR BULKY ITEM OR LARGE ITEM PICK UP.  The windstorm was an exceptional event, so you do not need to be concerned that you will lose your opportunity to extra pickups as were accommodated in the County's Franchise Agreement with Athens.

5.    Please help your neighborhood be cleaned up by helping those not able sweep up and bag the small green waste that is most likely going to migrate with the next rain.  Any help for those who need help would be greatly appreciated and it will help us get Altadena's streets cleaned that much quicker.

6.    It will still take weeks to get the streets fully cleaned and all of the green waste picked up.  Many thanks for all of the effort many of you have made to be in service to others, and many thanks to all for being willing to exercise patience.

If you have questions or are not certain about what to do about green waste, please let me know.  If I can't answer your questions myself, I'll help be responsible for getting an answer.

Thanks,
Carolyn

Follow Up: Solicitor = Possible Break-In

Please share this with your neighbors as not everyone reads this blog.

I followed up with our Sherrif's liaison regarding the reports last night about a young man knocking on a neighbor's door to talk about Neighborhood Watch.  This has been happening around other parts of Altadena.  Please be cautious.  Chances are this is someone scoping out your house.  Here's Carolyn's comments:



The teens or young adults who've been knocking on doors around several neighborhoods have no connection to anyone we can think of in Altadena and their story changes slightly from one house to another.  They'll try to tell you that they're working on an Eagle Scout program and are organizing a neighborhood watch, or that "my grandmother Marsha is the block captain and she asked me to come talk to you about neighborhood watch".

Their stories are bogus, and in neighborhoods where they are organized, they all know the guy standing on the porch is lying. 

Chances are they're just trying to find out if you're home and their companions may be just out of sight or are already headed up your driveway to look for a way to gain entry through a door or window on the rear of your house. 

Two different scenarios seem to repeat.  Sometimes the person at the door is looking to distract you while their companions do attempt to break in - and some have been successful at that, or they're knocking insistently and when no one answers the door, they're in your home in a matter of seconds.

Don't trust any of it.  Please thank everyone who calls the Sheriff's Station at 626 798 1131 and ask them to keep doing that, and when info is available, please gather as much descriptive info as possible - male/female, approx age, height, kind of clothing, color or pattern on their clothing, that sort of thing, but do it safely.

When that insistent knocking on your door starts, just holler "sorry, I can't come to the door right now".  If the person at the door actually knows you, they'll holler back at you.  The criminals won't.  They'll just look for the quickest way in.

Any help getting the info out to others is greatly appreciated.

Stay safe and thanks again very much for asking the question!

Carolyn